How the vegan diet affects your body – and what the NHS has to say about it

Veganism – the plant-based diet which removes all meat and dairy products – is on the rise in the UK.

The Vegan society claims the number of vegans in the UK has risen dramatically from 150,000 to 600,000 in the last four years alone.

Thousands are making the switch for a variety of reasons such as ethical concerns on animal welfare, or those simply looking for a healthier diet.

But just how does the vegan diet impact upon your body.

Now, the Daily Post reports the NHS has broken down research into the benefits and risks of the popular diet.

What was the research?

The research analysed 11 studies which looked into the effects of a plant-based diet on adults with type 2 diabetes.

They compared the outcomes between those on plant-based diets and those not, including quality of life, depression and the use of diabetes medication.

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It was conducted by staff from the University of London, the University of Northampton as well as researchers from East Sussex NHS Healthcare Trust.

Their findings were published in medical journal BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care.

What did it reveal?

In three studies including 117 adults with diabetes, quality of life improved in the plant-based diet groups but not in the control groups.

Of these three studies, one specifically reported improvements in a psychological measure of quality of life, one reported decreased depression levels, and the other found decreased pain symptoms.

Eight of the studies, including 405 adults with diabetes, found that diabetes control measured by HbA1c was better in the plant-based groups than in the control groups.

Kale, roasted yams and avocado salad is an example of one of the dishes you could eat on the Paleo diet (Image: iStockphoto)

In five of six studies which reported weight outcomes, those in the plant-based groups lost more weight than people in the control groups.

There was an average weight loss of 5.23kg for those on plant-based diets, compared to 2.83kg for the others.

“It can be concluded that plant-based diets accompanied by educational interventions can significantly improve psychological health, quality of life, HbA1c levels and weight and therefore the management of diabetes,” the researchers said.

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What does the NHS make of the research?

The NHS said: “Eating a healthy diet can help people with type 2 diabetes to manage their condition and avoid complications.”

They acknowledge that the research around plant-based diets does support this conclusion, but insist its not firm evidence.

“It has too many limitations to tell us for sure that a vegan diet, specifically, is the best diet for people with diabetes,” they added.

“We don’t know enough about the interventions or control groups in the individual studies included in the review.

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“For example, if the plant-based diets were lower in calories than the control group diets, it’s not surprising people lost more weight on the plant-based diet.”

The NHS further explained that too little research has been done into plant-based diets to “draw firm conclusions” about their effects.